Aurelion and Brynja, having exited the gate of the Silverfang Clan, walked side by side along the roads of the Upper District towards Roric's house.
Brynja was the first to break the silence. She turned her head slightly towards the small figure beside her. "You get along well with Clan Leader Viggo, Aurelion. He was quite... warm towards you."
"Yes, he was," he said curtly, no discernible emotion in his voice.
Brynja continued. "When you spoke of your friends... I understand why you came here instead of going to them, it was logical. But perhaps..." She paused "...perhaps you could have asked Clan Leader Viggo to help you. He seemed more than willing to assist."
Aurelion stopped. "Why would I ask such a thing of the Clan Leader?" he asked, a pure inquiry in his voice, as if Brynja was missing something very obvious.
Brynja was surprised. "Well... because your friends are involved and he..."
Aurelion started walking again and "The other clans planned such a thing because they don't know me," he cut Brynja off. "Perhaps if someone else were in my place, they would have fallen for it. They would have gone to visit their friends, fallen into their trap. But I didn't. By going to the Silverfang Clan, I gave them a sufficient answer. Right now, the advantage is mine, and they are the ones who are curious, not me."
"If I make a move now, go and ask Viggo for help, they will better understand what kind of person I am, how easily I can be manipulated, or how desperate I am. They will make their future moves accordingly. What I need to do right now is not to show myself and to wait for their next move and be prepared. If I make a move, all I will have done is expose myself."
She nodded slightly. But she had still caught a point. "But, if Clan Leader Viggo made a move, for example, spoke with the other clans, they might not directly associate it with you, thinking he did it to draw you to their side. You wouldn't have exposed yourself."
"Still, it's more logical to wait for a move from the other side," Aurelion replied clearly. "And the Clan Leader is already aware that I used them by going to the Silverfang Clan. Due to their interest in me, this works in their favor. They see me as a potential ally or at least an asset they don't want other clans to get. But if I make a concrete request from them and in return don't show them any favor, don't show loyalty... then Clan Leader Viggo, like the other three clans, could become a problem for me."
Brynja thought for a moment. "You speak logically, Aurelion. But Clan Leader Viggo didn't seem like that kind of person to me. More... understanding?"
"Perhaps he isn't," Aurelion said with a shrug. "But in the end, he is the leader of a clan. His priority will always be his own clan. He is trying to draw me into his clan, and he acts accordingly. The others are doing the same too. The only difference is their methods. Their goal is the same. My distrust of Clan Leader Viggo is not because of his personality, but because he is the leader of a clan."
With these last words, they had arrived in front of the house.
Brynja looked at the Aurelion's face and the fatigue in his eyes. She sighed. "Come on then, Aurelion," she said, her voice softer now.
"You can't work that head of yours on an empty stomach. Let's get you some food."
Just as she was about to step inside, Aurelion stopped her. "Actually... I want something from you, Brynja."
Brynja turned and looked at him. "What is it?"
Aurelion's expression changed slightly, as if he were about to ask for something difficult. "These events... have really tired my mind. I want to walk around a bit and relax."
Brynja's first reaction would have been to say "No," but the rare look of fatigue on the child's face and what he had been through during the day made her hesitate. "Is that so? Alright, let's go then. I'll accompany you."
"If possible... I'd like to be alone for a bit,"
Brynja's eyebrows instantly furrowed. Just as she opened her mouth to object, Aurelion continued.
Brynja. I've been training in that training room almost non stop for two weeks. What happened at the orphanage today, what I learned about the clans... These things have truly exhausted me. I really need to be alone for a bit, to gather my thoughts. Give me some time."
Brynja hesitated. The look of fatigue and stress on the child's face seemed genuine. But there was the Captain's order.
Aurelion noticed her hesitation. "Don't worry," he said "You know very well that I won't go raiding the Frost-Axe Clan alone. I just... want to relax a bit."
"Alright," she said finally. "But be home before it gets dark! Understood?"
"Understood," he said immediately. "Thank you, Brynja."
Without another word, he turned and started walking.
Brynja watched the small but determined figure walking away.
"I hope he knows what he's doing," she thought, then slowly opened the house door and went inside.
The last rays of the day, seeping through the needles of the old pine tree, fell upon on the stone bench beneath it.
Aurelion sat motionless, watching the colors left in the sky.
It didn't take long. The darkest shadows of the tree rippled and Vespera, slipped out from within the shadows.
This time, her arrival was quicker. A bright, cheerful smile was on her face.
"Little light, you've come!"
She walked around the back of the bench, lightly touching Aurelion's shoulders.
She leaned her head just above the child's, her dark hair close enough to brush Aurelion's cheek.
"Somehow I felt you would come here today... And it seems I was right, little light."
Aurelion gave no reaction to the woman's sudden closeness or her familiar tone.
His gaze was still on the horizon. He merely murmured, "Good for you,"
Vespera's smile didn't falter. She removed her hands from the child's shoulders and, with an elegant movement, sat down beside him on the empty part of the bench.
Now they were side by side. She crossed her legs. She turned to him with a smirk.
"What's wrong, little light? You seem a bit grumpy today?"
Aurelion finally turned his head slowly. His golden eyes locked directly onto Vespera's bright pink ones. "You seem to be on good terms with Einar,"
Vespera's lips curled up mischievously. She raised an eyebrow "If this is a deal," she said with a slight giggle, "you need to tell me something." She winked. "You know the rules, little light."
Aurelion looked into Vespera's eyes for a few seconds. Then a smirk appeared on his lips. "It's not always clear when the information I give you will come back to haunt me, Vespera,"
Vespera dramatically placed her hand on her heart, a hurt expression on her face. "What are you talking about, little light? Do you think I... I'm that kind of person?" She batted her eyelashes innocently.
But this act didn't last long. She thought for a moment, then her lips curling in amusement. "Alright," she said with a shrug, "if the necessary fee is met... I suppose I am that kind of person."
"No need to get so excited, Vespera. I had already considered that when I gave you information." He tilted his head slightly, the smirk in his eyes now sharper. "After all, you're just a tool."
The relaxed, playful expression on Vespera's face suddenly froze.
"I don't quite understand what you mean, little light," she said, her voice lacking any of its previous cheerfulness.
She leaned slightly towards Aurelion, her pink eyes now more attentive, more piercing. "Say that again?"
Aurelion's smile widened, clearly enjoying this reaction. Without blinking, he repeated, enunciating each word: "I said you're just a tool, Vespera. It's not very clear whose hand you're in, whom you serve."
This time, Vespera's reaction was more pronounced. Her lips tightened into a thin line, faint veins throbbed at her temples, and wrinkles previously unseen appeared on her face.
"Am I wrong?" Aurelion continued "If it weren't for Einar, if it weren't for me, if it weren't for the other people who talk to you... what would you be, Vespera?"
He tilted his head and looked the woman up and down. "An attractive Dark Elf with a Seal... yes. But definitely not an information broker. Every time a word comes out of your mouth, you talk about a value, a fee."
He looked at Vespera's now anger contorted face again, his smile widening even further. "For a sufficient fee, you're just a tool."
"Though, after your usual annoying face, this look of yours is a sight more worth seeing."
Vespera's face slowly changed. She wasn't completely calm. A fire still burned in her bright pink eyes, and her lips were still a thin line, but her previous anger had given away.
She lifted her head slightly, adopting an air as if looking down on Aurelion.
"So this look of mine... is a beautiful sight, little light?" she said.
She slowly rose from where she sat, stood in front of Aurelion.
"Can you pay the price for looking at this sight, little light?" She took another step forward. "Because if you can't... this sight might be the last one you ever see."
"Or," she whispered. "are you relying on being a sweet, innocent little Elf, little light?"
Aurelion, let out a light laugh.
He shook his head "You should have gotten to know me a little by now, Vespera. Do you think I'm that stupid?"
"Clearly, you are," Vespera said instantly.
"No," Aurelion said calmly, his expression returning to that confident, almost arrogant state.
"I know things, Vespera," he said slowly "that if I told you... you would sell your soul to me in return. You would become just my tool."
Vespera's eyes narrowed for a moment at this incredible claim. She slowly raised her fingers and lightly brushed Aurelion's cheek, almost like a caress.
Her touch was both chilling and contemptuous. "Those are very bold words, little light," she whispered.
Aurelion showed not the slightest sign of discomfort from the woman's touch.
On the contrary, a smile appeared on his lips. "Yes," he said simply.
Then, he calmly stood up from where he sat. He brushed himself off and, turning his back on Vespera, began to walk away.
"My reason for coming here wasn't to make a deal with you, Vespera," he said over his shoulder.
"I just came to tell you to be careful about your future actions." He paused, looking back one last time. "It was fun looking at your pretty face, but all good things must come to an end."
He took a few more steps. Just then, he felt a sudden, icy contact on his neck. Hard, cold steel... He froze instantly where he stood. He slowly lowered his head.
What he saw. Pressed against his throat, right over his carotid artery, tip of a slender, matte black dagger.
The hand holding the dagger was unseen, but the cold breath of death on the back of his neck.
However, the cold breath of death was not something Aurelion was feeling for the first time.
That contact on his throat didn't trigger the expected fear and panic.
On the contrary, a smirk slowly formed on his face.
It was that strange, twisted familiarity that came with being face to face with death. Without any hurry, he slowly turned his head back.
Vespera's voice came from right beside his ear. "What's your hurry, little light? I told you before... You have to pay the price for the sight you saw."
Aurelion this time turned completely. The tip of the dagger was still touching his skin, but he seemed to ignore it. His eyes locked directly onto Vespera.
Vespera's eyes caught the unnerving, calm smile on the child's face, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.
"So," Aurelion said, a clear mockery in his voice, "if I don't pay the price for this sight... you'll kill me?"
His smile widened, and a laugh escaped his lips.
"Stop fooling around, little light," she said through gritted teeth. "It's time you started paying your fee."
Aurelion's laughter stopped. His face replaced by a thoughtful look.
His eyes drifted for a moment to the sky. "Alright," he said then. "I suppose...I have something worth that view."
His gaze returned to Vespera's eyes. "As you might guess, I don't scare easily, Vespera. Of course, naturally, I can be anxious about things I don't know or encounter for the first time."
Then, his face transformed back into that unsettling smirk. He opened his eyes wide, his golden irises looking directly into Vespera's pink ones. "And death, is not among those things."
These words struck Vespera's face like an invisible blow. The pressure from the hand holding the dagger suddenly lessened.
Slowly, almost unconsciously, she lowered the dagger from the child's throat.
This reaction... this fearlessness... what it implied... This was not normal. "What do you mean, little light?" she asked, a clear surprise and an obvious curiosity in her voice for the first time.
Aurelion didn't even seem relieved that the threat of the dagger was gone.
He took a step towards her, closing the distance between them again. He raised his index finger and lightly touched Vespera's arm.
"I mean, If I wanted to, with the things I know, I could easily... buy even you."
"You might know almost everything in this city," he said, with a slight disdain. "That's evident from your information trade with an important figure like that bastard Einar. But even if you know a lot... that's just all."
Then, he withdrew his finger and, without waiting for Vespera to react further, turned his back. He started walking again, his steps more resolute this time.
As he walked one last sentence escaped Aurelion's lips. "You know nothing, Vespera."
Vespera was left standing there. Her face still bore that expression of astonishment.
She watched the child, and his words continued to echo in her mind. "Death... is not among those things."